8 MARYLAND.

The Susquehanna River furnishes a greater
tribute of fresh water to the ocean than any At-
lantic river within the United States. The dis-
tance from its source to its mouth, is about 400
miles. Its most remote sources are in the lakes
Otscgo and Otego, in the western part of New
York, fifteen counties of which state are inter-
sected by its branches. That enterprising state
has already made surveys with a view of con-
necting these waters by canals with their great
commercial emporium. To the north, the sour-
ces of the Susquehanna approach very near the
waters of Lake Ontario, with which and through
it, with all the great northern Lakes, they might
be easily connected. Westward, its sources are
in the Allegany mountains, and approach very
near the Allegany river, to which Pennsylvania,
with a slow but certain march of improvement,
is now at work constructing communications
reaching to the great western valley of the Mis-
sissippi on one hand, and to her capitol, by the
Union Canal and Schuylkill river, on the other.
The Susquehanna may be pronounced the great
artery of the populous and fertile state of Penn-
sylvania, from two thirds of the surface, and
twenty eight of the counties of which, its waters
descend, and concentrating before they rtach
Maryland, flow into the head of the Chesapeake
bay, 16 miles within the boundaries of the state,
with so ample a volumn of water, that some to-
pographers have contended that the Bay itself,